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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: march · firm · capital · sharp · cap · court · hand · degree

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cap — a hat
  5. capital — money
  6. sharp — clever
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. cap — of ice
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — temperature
  15. march — the month
  16. firm — decided
  17. capital — a city
  18. firm — steady
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — for sport
  21. firm — a company
  22. degree — from a university
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. court — of a king

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