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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · perch · pitcher · drill · file · fork · chair · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — the tool
  4. file — a document
  5. drill — army training
  6. spell — letters
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — a city
  16. spell — a short time
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spell — magic
  21. fork — in a road
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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