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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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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: saw · degree · spell · scale · mate · capital · jam · bank

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bank — for money
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. degree — from a university
  7. capital — a city
  8. mate — a partner
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spell — letters
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spell — magic
  20. degree — temperature
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. spell — a short time
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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