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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rest — a break
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pit — a hole
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. club — for golf
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pit — in a race
  19. perch — the fish
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. wind — to turn a key

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