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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.

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: cold · capital · degree · bore · land · craft · lean · ball

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lean — thin
  5. land — a country
  6. bore — to tire
  7. lean — to bend
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — money
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — an illness
  18. degree — an amount
  19. craft — boats
  20. land — to come down
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. capital — a city

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