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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: band · cabinet · temple · fork · capital · snap · ball · degree

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. band — a ring
  3. degree — from a university
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. band — a music group
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. capital — money
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ball — a dance
  20. capital — a city
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. degree — temperature
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — a big letter

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