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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: rule · cold · capital · degree · track · sharp · mark · net

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a city
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. capital — money
  11. mark — a trace
  12. net — after costs
  13. mark — a grade
  14. degree — from a university
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. rule — government
  18. net — in sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. track — a path
  24. mark — to pay attention

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