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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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. capital — money
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — to go on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. mug — a face
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitch — completely
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. last — final
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mug — to rob
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — finally
  24. capital — a big letter

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