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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 120 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 · file · bank · capital · temple · row

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bank — of a river
  5. file — a line of people
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. degree — temperature
  9. row — to paddle
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a city
  12. bank — for money
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. file — a tool
  16. bank — for money
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — from a university

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