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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. tube — the underground
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tube — a container
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — of ice
  9. perch — the fish
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cue — a signal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. capital — money
  16. fine — all right
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cap — a hat
  19. capital — a city
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kick — in football
  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