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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 · degree · court · cell · arm · object

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cell — in biology
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — a phone
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. court — for sport
  7. object — an aim
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of a king
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — from a university
  18. court — of law

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