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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: mate · jam · chair · capital · calf · degree · date · roll

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a leader
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. capital — money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mate — a partner
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mate — a friend
  16. roll — a cake
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. roll — a list
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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