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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. face — to point toward
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bark — to shout
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. scale — size or range
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. scale — in music
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — to breed
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. capital — a city
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bat — the animal

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