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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: capital · stand · scale · degree · ball · pop · dip · bear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. scale — in music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. ball — a dance
  11. scale — size or range
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pop — music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stand — to bear
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. dip — to sink
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. capital — money
  23. bear — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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