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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: degree · stick · cell · swing · rash · capital

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a city
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rash — a series
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rash — hasty
  18. capital — a big letter

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