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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. capital — a city
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fork — in a road
  5. field — farmland
  6. roll — a cake
  7. swing — to play on
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. field — a subject
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wake — a trail
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. roll — a list
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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