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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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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: capital · prune · kick · cap · band · nail · arm · degree

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. band — a ring
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — money
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. band — a music group
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. degree — from a university
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kick — in football
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — a city
  23. cap — a lid
  24. prune — to trim

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