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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. race — humankind
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — help
  8. rest — a break
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. capital — money
  11. hand — in cards
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a city
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — the arms race
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. race — a contest
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cabinet — ministers

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