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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 · perch · calf · pitch · rest · degree

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitch — completely
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — an amount
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rest — what's left
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird

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