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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: capital · bound · safe · field · game · lean · craft · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bound — tied together
  5. field — a subject
  6. game — a match
  7. lean — thin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — money
  10. field — farmland
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. degree — temperature
  14. field — for sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. game — wild animals
  17. craft — boats
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. craft — a skill
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. capital — a city

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