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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: bass · capital · spring · board · kick · row · rule · degree

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rule — a law
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. spring — of water
  14. row — to paddle
  15. spring — the season
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. capital — money
  20. kick — in football
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — an amount
  24. row — a line

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