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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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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: kid · capital · rash · perch · stock · bay · ruler · squash

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — money
  3. rash — hasty
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. capital — a city
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. rash — a series
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. squash — the vegetable

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