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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: degree · bound · shower · mine · firm · capital · object · pitch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — tied together
  3. object — a thing
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. shower — to wash
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bound — obliged
  24. firm — steady

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