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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pop — soda
  3. perch — the fish
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. capital — money
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rash — a series
  12. capital — a city
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pop — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. perch — for a bird

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