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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. face — part of the head
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bound — tied together
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. face — to confront
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chest — a box
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bound — obliged
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bound — certain
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bear — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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