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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rash — hasty
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cue — a hint
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — money
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — for pool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — a series
  19. object — an aim
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. object — a thing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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