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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: track · capital · march · pop · bulb · rock · degree · spell

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. capital — money
  4. degree — temperature
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spell — magic
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rock — music
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. track — a path
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. track — a song
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. degree — from a university

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