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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: mouse · degree · drill · capital · bay · wave · land · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — to come down
  4. capital — a city
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. drill — army training
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. degree — an amount
  17. capital — money
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — from a university
  24. land — ground

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