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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: fork · toast · rock · degree · pitch · perch · fall · capital

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rock — music
  12. capital — money
  13. rock — a stone
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fall — the season
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. fall — to drop
  21. toast — bread
  22. fall — to drop
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. capital — a city

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