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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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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bank — of a river
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bank — for money
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — a video
  22. mate — a friend
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bank — for money

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