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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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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: capital · pitcher · degree · fork · band · club · stand · deal

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stand — to bear
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — money
  6. fork — in a road
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. band — a ring
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. deal — to handle
  21. club — a group
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. degree — temperature
  24. band — a music group

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