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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: capital · straw · craft · degree · face · stem

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — temperature
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. face — to point toward
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — from a university
  9. craft — boats
  10. capital — a city
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stem — to come from
  17. craft — a skill
  18. face — to confront

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