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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 120 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: present · mine · wake · wound · degree · deal · capital · temple

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. capital — money
  7. present — the time now
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. degree — from a university
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. degree — an amount
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wound — an injury
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. present — there
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. capital — a city
  24. mine — belonging to me

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