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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: march · bear · capital · racket · degree · bowl

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bear — the animal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — music
  18. capital — 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