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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. capital — a city
  7. fine — all right
  8. net — after costs
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. perch — the fish
  12. capital — money
  13. net — for catching
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. net — in sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — high quality
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. fall — the season
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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