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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a city
  4. can — a tin
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. shower — to wash
  7. land — to come down
  8. band — a music group
  9. perch — the fish
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. can — a tin
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — rain
  22. land — ground
  23. can — to be able to
  24. land — a country

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