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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. snap — to click
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rest — what's left
  9. perch — the fish
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chip — to eat
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — for a bird

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