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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.

Make a worksheet

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: degree · can · temple · mug · season · capital · wind · pass

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. capital — money
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. degree — from a university
  9. season — of the year
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mug — a cup
  15. can — a tin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. season — in sport
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. can — a tin
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pass — to spend time

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