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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — in football
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. tube — a container
  7. band — a music group
  8. capital — a city
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — hasty
  11. lean — to bend
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tube — the underground
  15. capital — money
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. band — a ring
  18. lean — thin
  19. perch — the fish
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rash — a series
  23. lean — to rest against
  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