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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. perch — the fish
  6. fine — high quality
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. game — a match
  11. chip — for betting
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fine — all right
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chip — to eat
  24. foot — the bottom

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