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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: cap · march · land · bass · lie · degree · cell · suit

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. suit — in cards
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bass — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — low music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. land — to come down
  13. lie — to recline
  14. suit — to fit
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. land — a country
  21. march — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. suit — clothes
  24. degree — an amount

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