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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · capital · field · toast · bear · degree

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. file — a tool
  6. toast — bread
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — a subject
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. file — a line of people
  15. capital — a city
  16. field — for sport
  17. capital — money
  18. bear — the animal

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