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

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — to rip
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bear — the animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bear — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. capital — money
  23. toast — bread
  24. racket — for tennis

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