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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · kid · perch · deal · tear · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. deal — to handle
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. perch — the fish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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