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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: can · lash · capital · mug · press · field · wound · degree

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — a publisher
  5. degree — from a university
  6. capital — a city
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. can — a tin
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. mug — to rob
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. press — to push
  17. capital — money
  18. press — newspapers
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — an amount
  23. can — to be able to
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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