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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · row · season · chair · foot · leaves · capital

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. season — of the year
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — a line
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. degree — temperature
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. capital — a city
  16. degree — an amount
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. season — in sport
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. capital — money
  24. foot — the bottom

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