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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 · net · safe · march · spring · capital · bound · pit

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pit — in a race
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — for catching
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. degree — from a university
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. bound — certain
  16. pit — a hole
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. march — the month
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — money
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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