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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: bear · bat · leaves · ground · capital · squash · scale · saw

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. squash — the sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. saw — the tool
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. capital — money
  12. scale — in music
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. ground — a position
  16. bat — the animal
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. ground — the earth
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bear — the animal
  24. capital — a city

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