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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: snap · capital · mark · charge · perch · rule · degree · shower

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. perch — the fish
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rule — government
  10. mark — a grade
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. charge — electricity
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. charge — a price
  17. shower — rain
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mark — a trace
  21. charge — in control
  22. degree — an amount
  23. shower — to wash
  24. perch — for a bird

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