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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: deal · pitcher · stock · capital · lash · chair · perch · degree

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. degree — temperature
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. perch — the fish
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. degree — from a university
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — goods

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