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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. rule — a law
  4. spring — of water
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. spring — a coil
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. capital — money
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kid — child
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rule — government
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — for a bird

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