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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. capital — a city
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — the cause
  5. rule — government
  6. pass — a permit
  7. capital — money
  8. root — of a word
  9. hand — in cards
  10. firm — a company
  11. root — of a plant
  12. content — the amount
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. firm — steady
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. firm — decided
  18. rule — a law
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. content — happy
  22. hand — help
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. capital — a big letter

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