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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 · lie · last · capital · arm · staff · season · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. capital — a city
  6. last — finally
  7. lie — to recline
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a document
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. season — of the year
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. last — final
  20. degree — temperature
  21. file — a tool
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. season — in sport

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