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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: leaves · hand · squash · degree · capital · craft · press · bowl

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — money
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. squash — the sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. hand — help
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. press — a publisher
  15. hand — in cards
  16. press — to push
  17. degree — temperature
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. degree — an amount
  20. craft — boats
  21. press — newspapers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. leaves — to go away

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