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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: bowl · hide · temple · net · capital · wind · press · degree

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. press — newspapers
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. net — in sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. press — to push
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — after costs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. press — a publisher

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