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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. board — a committee
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — for catching
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — money
  16. board — to get on
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — after costs
  19. rock — a stone
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. net — in sport
  22. branch — a division
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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