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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: dip · capital · bound · press · temple · net · bass · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. capital — a city
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bass — the fish
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — money
  7. press — to push
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. net — in sport
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bound — certain
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. net — for catching
  17. bass — low music
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. net — after costs
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bound — obliged
  24. degree — temperature

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