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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 120 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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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: calf · rush · degree · foot · perch · stock · pop · capital

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stock — shares
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a city
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rush — hurry
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. capital — money
  11. pop — soda
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pop — to visit
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. stock — goods
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pop — music
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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