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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bank — for money
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bore — to tire
  9. date — the fruit
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bank — of a river
  16. swing — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bank — for money
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. tear — from crying
  23. swing — in golf
  24. tear — to rip

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