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

Word bank: bear · perch · deal · capital · cell · wind

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — the animal
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bear — the animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — money
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone

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