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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: rush · rash · object · degree · rock · wind · hand · capital

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rock — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. object — a thing
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wind — moving air
  14. object — to protest
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. capital — a city
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rock — a stone
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — money
  21. object — an aim
  22. hand — help
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rush — to hurry

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