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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. chip — for betting
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. season — in sport
  14. band — a ring
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — from a university
  19. season — of the year
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a music group
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. chip — to eat

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