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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.

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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: capital · bat · perch · racket · calf · scale

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. scale — size or range
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. perch — the fish
  9. scale — in music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bat — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. scale — for weighing

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