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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: degree · court · capital · can · saw · bulb · plane · content

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — from a university
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. content — happy
  5. degree — an amount
  6. plane — a tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bulb — for light
  12. can — a tin
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — money
  16. can — to be able to
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. can — a tin
  19. court — for sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. capital — a city
  23. content — the amount
  24. capital — a big letter

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