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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. swing — music
  7. net — after costs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. charge — electricity
  10. scale — in music
  11. perch — the fish
  12. capital — a city
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. swing — to play on
  18. charge — in control
  19. capital — money
  20. wind — moving air
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. charge — a price
  24. capital — a big letter

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