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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're almost out of ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pop — music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — a city
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. board — a committee
  12. shower — to wash
  13. perch — the fish
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pop — to visit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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