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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.

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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: land · row · court · perch · cap · fan · pound · degree

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cap — a lid
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — a line
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. court — for sport
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — ground
  22. court — of a king
  23. cap — a hat
  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