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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lash · capital · perch · calf · scale · clip · degree · pitcher

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. capital — money
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. perch — the fish
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. clip — a video
  17. scale — size or range
  18. degree — an amount
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. capital — a city
  24. scale — in music

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