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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.

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: kid · straw · spell · capital · ground · degree · plane · calf

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spell — magic
  6. plane — a tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — a city
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — crushed
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — to tease
  20. capital — money
  21. spell — a short time
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. degree — temperature
  24. calf — a young animal

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