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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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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: fan · racket · deal · capital · scale · wind · degree · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. scale — in music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — money
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spring — of water

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