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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tear — to rip
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. capital — a city
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spell — a short time
  8. chip — to eat
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mark — a trace
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chip — for betting
  23. capital — money
  24. racket — for tennis

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