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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: season · capital · chest · cabinet · current · degree · tear · date

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. capital — a city
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — the fruit
  9. season — in sport
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. current — of water
  14. season — of the year
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. tear — from crying
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — from a university
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cabinet — ministers

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