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

Word bank: deal · capital · perch · jam · fork · tear

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. perch — the fish
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. capital — money
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — to rip
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. deal — to handle

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