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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · degree · branch · capital · land · rest · pop · lean

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rest — what's left
  7. capital — a city
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pop — music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rest — what's left
  14. land — ground
  15. branch — a division
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — an amount
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — a break
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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