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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: capital · fork · lie · scale · present · bear · degree · cabinet

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. degree — from a university
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. fork — in a road
  7. present — the time now
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. present — there
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. scale — in music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. lie — to recline

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