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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: band · chair · present · rock · capital · degree

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rock — music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rock — a stone
  13. present — the time now
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. rock — to move gently

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