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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. shower — to wash
  3. capital — money
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. shower — rain
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. can — a tin
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. can — a tin
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. perch — the fish
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rush — hurry

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