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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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — after costs
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. board — to get on
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. board — a committee
  18. net — for catching
  19. capital — money
  20. drill — army training
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. drill — a practice
  24. net — in sport

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