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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: bat · foot · drill · current · degree · last · capital · stand

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. last — to go on
  5. stand — to bear
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. foot — a measure
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. current — of water
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — a practice
  17. last — final
  18. current — happening now
  19. degree — temperature
  20. current — electric
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. last — finally
  23. drill — army training
  24. bat — for baseball

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