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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: band · degree · leaves · cell · nail · capital · season · row

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — a city
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a ring
  13. season — of the year
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. band — a music group
  17. row — a line
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cell — a phone
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. degree — from a university

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