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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — to go on
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — a city
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. suit — clothes
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wake — a trail
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. suit — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. suit — to fit
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pit — in a race

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