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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · cap · branch · degree · row · temple · pop · capital

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cap — of ice
  6. branch — a division
  7. cap — a lid
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. band — a ring
  12. degree — temperature
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pop — music
  16. capital — a city
  17. row — a line
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pop — soda
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. band — a music group

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