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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cap — a hat
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — a city
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bear — the animal
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bear — the animal
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kick — in football

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