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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — the fish
  3. craft — boats
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — the earth
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a city
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ground — a position
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to click
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ground — crushed
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spell — magic
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — letters
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wave — of the sea

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