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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — the animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. degree — from a university
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. capital — money
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cue — for pool

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