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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. file — a tool
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bound — certain
  5. bat — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a city
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. file — a document
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — obliged
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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