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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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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: perch · fan · rash · court · cap · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. perch — the fish
  3. court — of law
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cap — a lid
  7. court — for sport
  8. rash — a series
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rash — hasty
  11. capital — money
  12. cap — a hat
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. court — of a king
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cap — of ice

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