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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: bear · capital · last · staff · season · plane · pass · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bear — the animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. staff — a stick
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. staff — employees
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. season — in sport
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — final
  22. degree — temperature
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — finally

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