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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. branch — a division
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — money
  8. mark — a trace
  9. game — a match
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. capital — a city
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. perch — the fish

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