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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · hand · arm · mug · mark · capital · racket · degree

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mug — a cup
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. degree — from a university
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. racket — for tennis

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