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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. perch — the fish
  6. scale — in music
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mark — a trace
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. capital — money
  12. mark — a grade
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — size or range
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. capital — a city
  19. staff — a stick
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. staff — employees

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