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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 120 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: root · press · degree · plane · capital · bound · fine · lie

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lie — to recline
  3. press — a publisher
  4. degree — an amount
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. root — of a plant
  7. plane — a tool
  8. root — of a word
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bound — certain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bound — tied together
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bound — obliged
  23. fine — all right
  24. root — the cause

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