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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cell — a phone
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. perch — the fish
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. saw — the tool
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. wake — a trail
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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