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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. firm — decided
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — a break
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. tear — from crying
  13. firm — steady
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a city
  16. firm — a company
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitcher — a jug

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