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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: band · bat · degree · capital · staff · lean · rest · wave

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bat — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. staff — employees
  6. band — a ring
  7. staff — employees
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. staff — a stick
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. lean — to bend
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lean — thin

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