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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — a city
  3. perch — the fish
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spell — a short time
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bear — the animal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. spell — letters
  20. kick — in football
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pitch — completely
  23. capital — money
  24. bear — the animal

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