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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 120 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. key — the most important part
  3. club — for golf
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cell — in biology
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cell — a phone
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. capital — a city
  10. charge — electricity
  11. stem — to come from
  12. charge — in control
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. charge — a price
  18. perch — the fish
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — for dancing
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. club — a group
  23. key — in music
  24. capital — money

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