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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. capital — money
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. ground — crushed
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. club — for golf
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. perch — the fish
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. club — a group
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ruler — for measuring

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