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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: rock · cabinet · cold · fan · capital · degree · leaves · rest

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rest — a break
  18. rock — a stone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. rock — music
  24. leaves — of a tree

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