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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: straw · date · spell · capital · temple · degree · bark · current

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. capital — money
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. current — electric
  6. spell — letters
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. current — happening now
  12. degree — from a university
  13. capital — a city
  14. current — of water
  15. date — the fruit
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. date — on the calendar

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