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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cap — a lid
  11. capital — a city
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — from a university
  20. perch — the fish
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stand — to bear
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cap — a hat

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