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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fine — high quality
  4. capital — money
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. net — in sport
  9. kid — child
  10. net — after costs
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. capital — a city
  17. fine — all right
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bear — the animal
  21. net — for catching
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. perch — the fish
  24. rush — a thrill

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