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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 116 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: present · squash · capital · staff · suit · wind · degree · field

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — to crush
  4. degree — from a university
  5. staff — employees
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — farmland
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. staff — employees
  10. present — the time now
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. suit — clothes
  16. present — there
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. suit — to fit
  19. degree — temperature
  20. capital — a city
  21. degree — an amount
  22. staff — a stick
  23. field — for sport
  24. suit — in cards

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