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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · capital · degree · land · mug · lean · ground · mine

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — a position
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ground — the earth
  7. lean — to bend
  8. land — ground
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. land — a country
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mug — to rob
  14. lean — thin
  15. capital — a city
  16. degree — from a university
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. ground — crushed
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mug — a face
  24. capital — a big letter

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