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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: band · chair · present · rock · capital · degree · hide · bore

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. present — there
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rock — music
  8. bore — to drill
  9. present — the time now
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. present — a gift
  15. bore — to tire
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rock — a stone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. capital — a city

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