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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 116 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 · ball · tear · capital · content · cabinet · safe · degree

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. 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. tear — to rip
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — an amount
  10. ball — a great time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. perch — the fish
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. content — the amount
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. 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