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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.

Make a worksheet

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
YesNo
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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: degree · pitcher · hide · temple · wave · capital · net · field

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a city
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — from a university
  16. field — a subject
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. capital — money
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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