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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: sharp · temple · capital · wax · cell · degree · stem · mouse

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — in biology
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cell — a phone

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