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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — money
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hand — help
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — a contest
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. race — humankind
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cell — a phone
  21. race — the arms race
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  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