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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. row — to paddle
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. capital — money
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — a line
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. scale — size or range
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tear — from crying
  21. perch — the fish
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. capital — a city
  24. arm — part of the body

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