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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: bass · degree · land · suit · sharp · drill · capital · jam

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. drill — a practice
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. drill — army training
  5. suit — to fit
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — ground
  8. drill — the tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bass — low music
  12. capital — money
  13. suit — in cards
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bass — the fish
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. suit — clothes
  23. capital — a city
  24. jam — in traffic

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