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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. present — the time now
  5. cell — in biology
  6. craft — boats
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — there
  10. craft — a skill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — money
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chip — for betting
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. capital — a city
  22. present — a gift
  23. ball — a dance
  24. chip — to eat

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