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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. perch — the fish
  2. capital — a city
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fine — all right
  7. lie — to recline
  8. fine — high quality
  9. capital — money
  10. degree — temperature
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. degree — an amount
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lie — an untruth
  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