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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — music
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. land — to come down
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. march — the month
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — a country
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. object — an aim
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bear — the animal
  24. march — the month

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