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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fine — all right
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fine — high quality
  5. capital — a city
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. shower — rain
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chair — a leader
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pit — a hole
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bank — for money
  24. capital — a big letter

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