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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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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: bank · degree · court · club · capital · cap

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bank — of a river
  4. cap — a lid
  5. club — a group
  6. cap — of ice
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — of law
  12. bank — for money
  13. capital — a city
  14. court — for sport
  15. club — for golf
  16. bank — for money
  17. cap — a hat
  18. capital — money

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