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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — a city
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. race — a contest
  11. board — a committee
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. race — humankind
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. perch — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. mine — for digging
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. board — to get on

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