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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: capital · degree · row · patient · rest · bark · fine · perch

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rest — a break
  8. capital — a city
  9. degree — an amount
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — money
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rest — what's left
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fine — all right
  19. row — a line
  20. perch — the fish
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. degree — from a university

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