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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: perch · row · lie · pound · capital · bulb · bat · cue

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. row — a line
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bulb — for light
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cue — a hint
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cue — for pool
  22. perch — the fish
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bulb — of a plant

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