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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: straw · stock · temple · bore · cell · spell · capital · degree

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. capital — money
  3. cell — in biology
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spell — magic
  9. bore — to drill
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bore — to tire
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. spell — letters
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stock — shares
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stock — goods

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