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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · degree · spell · kid · arm · press · capital · bore

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — magic
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. capital — money
  7. pop — soda
  8. kid — child
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pop — to visit
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bore — to tire
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. degree — from a university
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. press — a publisher
  22. kid — to tease
  23. spell — letters
  24. arm — part of the body

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