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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — shares
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. stock — goods
  9. key — for a lock
  10. perch — the fish
  11. key — in music
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — money
  14. charge — a price
  15. game — wild animals
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. charge — in control
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. charge — electricity
  22. key — the most important part
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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