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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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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 · firm · kid · racket · rest · capital · degree · perch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. firm — steady
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fork — in a road
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — a break
  12. firm — decided
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — child
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. firm — a company
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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