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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 120 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: staff · band · stand · capital · degree · present

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. present — there
  4. band — a music group
  5. stand — to bear
  6. degree — temperature
  7. present — the time now
  8. band — a ring
  9. staff — employees
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. present — a gift
  12. degree — an amount
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. capital — a city
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees

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