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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: mouse · degree · season · hand · leaves · capital · wax · bank

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. season — of the year
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. hand — help
  5. bank — for money
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. degree — from a university
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bank — of a river
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — money
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. season — in sport
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bank — for money
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. degree — an amount

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