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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: rock · bank · capital · stick · band · squash · degree · cabinet

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. band — a music group
  3. bank — for money
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bank — for money
  8. rock — music
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. degree — an amount
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a ring
  19. capital — a city
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. degree — temperature

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