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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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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bay — a horse colour

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