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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. net — after costs
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. net — for catching
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pop — soda
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — music
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. net — in sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. safe — out of danger

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