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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.

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 · pop · hand · wax · bound · suit · present · capital

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pop — music
  5. present — a gift
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pop — soda
  8. suit — to fit
  9. capital — money
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. suit — in cards
  14. wax — to grow
  15. capital — a city
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. suit — clothes
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pop — to visit
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. present — there
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — obliged

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