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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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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: foot · stock · cap · kid · perch · degree · wind · arm

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. foot — a measure
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stock — goods
  6. kid — child
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cap — a hat
  9. perch — the fish
  10. stock — shares
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cap — a lid
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cap — of ice
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — moving air
  24. foot — part of the body

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