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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: capital · net · fork · calf · spring · land · degree · club

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — a city
  4. club — a group
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. net — for catching
  16. club — for dancing
  17. spring — the season
  18. land — ground
  19. spring — a coil
  20. land — a country
  21. club — for golf
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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