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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · fan · rash · court · cap · capital · bass · roll

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rash — a series
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. roll — a cake
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. roll — a list
  8. perch — the fish
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. court — of law
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rash — hasty
  16. court — of a king
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. court — for sport
  24. capital — money

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