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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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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: land · fan · capital · rush · wind · perch · fall · stick

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. land — a country
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. fall — the season
  7. land — to come down
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. perch — the fish

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