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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bank — for money
  4. capital — a city
  5. bank — for money
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. stem — to come from
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — the fish
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. hand — in cards
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. row — a line
  22. capital — money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bank — of a river

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