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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 116 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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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: rule · row · pitch · mark · band · capital · lash · degree

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mark — a grade
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pitch — completely
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. row — a line
  20. degree — an amount
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. capital — money
  24. lash — to lash out

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