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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — not warm
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mark — a trace
  9. capital — a city
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pit — in a race
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. pit — a hole
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rule — a law
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rule — government
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. capital — money

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