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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.

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: capital · degree · rash · perch · stock · land · leaves · fine

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. land — to come down
  2. fine — all right
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — ground
  5. perch — the fish
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. stock — goods
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. land — a country
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fine — high quality
  19. degree — from a university
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. rash — a series
  22. capital — a city
  23. stock — shares
  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