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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. row — a line
  3. capital — money
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mark — a trace
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. capital — a city
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. staff — employees
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mark — a grade
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. staff — employees
  23. hand — help
  24. nail — on a finger

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