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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. net — in sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. perch — the fish
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — a leader
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. net — for catching
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. capital — money
  19. kid — child
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. shower — to wash

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