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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: plane · ball · degree · court · capital · mate · last · cabinet

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — money
  4. mate — a friend
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — final
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. court — of a king
  13. last — to go on
  14. court — for sport
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mate — to breed
  20. degree — an amount
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. court — of law
  24. ball — a dance

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