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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 120 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
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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: staff · hide · perch · capital · degree · racket

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. 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. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. staff — a stick
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. staff — employees
  8. perch — the fish
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. capital — a city
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. 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