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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: game · capital · saw · deal · pound · toast · land · perch

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. 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 — a big deal
  2. land — to come down
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. capital — money
  5. toast — bread
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a city
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. land — ground
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. saw — the tool
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. land — a country
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a match
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — wild animals
  24. 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