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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: cap · pop · degree · track · toast · land · mate · rule

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. land — ground
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. mate — a partner
  5. land — a country
  6. track — a song
  7. land — to come down
  8. rule — government
  9. cap — a hat
  10. track — a path
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rule — a law
  13. track — to keep track
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. cap — of ice
  22. toast — bread
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rule — to rule out

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