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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. face — part of the head
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. snap — to click
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bass — low music
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — money
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. perch — the fish
  17. face — to confront
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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