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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
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 · perch · coach · land · degree · key · tear · bass

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — ground
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. perch — the fish
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — from a university
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. capital — a city
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — to come down
  19. bass — low music
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. land — a country
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bass — the fish

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