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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: chest · perch · rule · bear · hide · capital

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — government
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. capital — money
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rule — a law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — a city

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