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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · chip · capital · date · cap · pitcher · bay · wound

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cap — a hat
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a city
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wound — an injury
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cap — a lid
  23. capital — money
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com