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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. key — in music
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cap — a hat
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — the most important part
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — help
  16. capital — money
  17. key — for a lock
  18. charge — in control
  19. snap — to click
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cap — of ice
  22. perch — the fish
  23. charge — a price
  24. charge — electricity

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