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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: capital · degree · spell · bank · staff · last · cold · press

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — finally
  4. bank — of a river
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — money
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bank — for money
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. press — a publisher
  15. last — to go on
  16. bank — for money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — final
  20. press — to push
  21. degree — an amount
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — from a university

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