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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: tear · perch · cabinet · current · court · capital · fall · degree

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. fall — the season
  3. court — for sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a city
  7. perch — the fish
  8. degree — from a university
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. current — happening now
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — of water
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — temperature
  16. court — of law
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. degree — an amount
  20. court — of a king
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — money
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — electric

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