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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.

Make a worksheet

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: degree · season · chest · hand · cap · rock · wave · capital

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. hand — help
  4. degree — an amount
  5. season — in sport
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — money
  12. rock — a stone
  13. hand — in cards
  14. capital — a city
  15. season — of the year
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rock — music
  18. cap — a hat
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cap — of ice
  23. chest — a box
  24. rock — to move gently

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