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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. object — a thing
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. capital — money
  7. object — an aim
  8. kid — child
  9. current — electric
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. ball — a dance
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. current — happening now
  16. branch — a division
  17. current — of water
  18. kid — to tease
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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