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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — in a race
  3. firm — decided
  4. cold — an illness
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — a company
  10. court — of a king
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. cold — not warm
  13. capital — a city
  14. perch — the fish
  15. court — of law
  16. fall — the season
  17. pit — a hole
  18. court — for sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fall — to drop
  22. firm — steady
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. fall — to drop

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