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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: land · saw · capital · wax · mark · perch · club · degree

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. club — a group
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mark — a grade
  11. club — for golf
  12. perch — the fish
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. land — ground
  17. capital — money
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wax — to grow
  22. degree — an amount
  23. capital — a city
  24. degree — temperature

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