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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 116 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: plane · straw · capital · club · stand · degree

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. club — a group
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. club — for golf
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stand — to bear
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stand — for spectators

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