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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. chair — a leader
  7. snap — to click
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. row — a line
  12. pound — a weight
  13. capital — money
  14. row — to paddle
  15. capital — a city
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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