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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: degree · bowl · capital · tear · wave · fall

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop

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