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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.

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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: cell · degree · cap · march · row · wind · stand · bass

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cell — in biology
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bass — low music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. march — music
  12. cap — a hat
  13. degree — temperature
  14. march — the month
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. cell — a phone
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cap — of ice

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