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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. capital — a city
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spell — a short time
  11. chair — a leader
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mark — a trace
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — magic
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — letters
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. capital — money

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