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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. degree — an amount
  3. court — of a king
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bank — for money
  6. capital — a city
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. club — a group
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — for golf
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. capital — money
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bank — for money
  23. stem — to come from
  24. safe — out of danger

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