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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. capital — money
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. staff — employees
  8. fine — all right
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. court — of law
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. nail — on a finger
  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