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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. file — a tool
  4. perch — the fish
  5. root — the cause
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. capital — money
  8. root — of a plant
  9. capital — a city
  10. rock — music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. deal — to handle
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rock — a stone
  19. root — of a word
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. hand — help

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