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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: firm · cell · capital · rock · degree · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — money
  3. rock — music
  4. firm — decided
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rock — a stone
  8. capital — a city
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. degree — temperature
  13. firm — a company
  14. mate — to breed
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. firm — steady

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