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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: degree · field · content · suit · capital · ruler

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. suit — to fit
  5. content — the amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — a subject
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — an amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. suit — clothes
  15. field — farmland
  16. degree — temperature
  17. suit — in cards
  18. capital — a city

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