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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — moving air
  4. squash — to crush
  5. capital — a city
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. scale — in music
  8. squash — the sport
  9. perch — the fish
  10. field — a subject
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — money
  13. face — to point toward
  14. scale — size or range
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — farmland
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. field — for sport
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. face — part of the head
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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