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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: chair · content · cabinet · fine · capital · spell · degree · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — high quality
  5. spell — magic
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — money
  9. content — the amount
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chair — a leader
  13. content — happy
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. band — a ring
  17. fine — all right
  18. spell — letters
  19. capital — a city
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. spell — a short time

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