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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.

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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — a city
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. court — of law
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. plane — a tool
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mark — a trace
  12. capital — money
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. perch — the fish
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rash — a series
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — to get on
  21. court — of a king
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. court — for sport
  24. sharp — clever

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