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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: lash · capital · leaves · cold · band · cabinet · degree · bore

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. band — a ring
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — to drill
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. capital — a city
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. band — a music group
  22. capital — money
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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