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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: degree · mine · hand · bowl · fine · pit · bear · capital

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — help
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. capital — money
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fine — all right
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. degree — from a university

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