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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mark · perch · hand · capital · jam · temple · degree · mine

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. capital — money
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mark — a grade
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — help
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. perch — the fish

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