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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: capital · pop · ruler · net · perch · roll · bound · rash

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — after costs
  3. pop — soda
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. perch — the fish
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. capital — a city
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pop — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. capital — money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bound — obliged
  24. ruler — for measuring

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