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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: present · track · cell · perch · squash · capital · bank · wound

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bank — of a river
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. present — a gift
  8. squash — the sport
  9. track — a path
  10. present — there
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — a phone
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — for money
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — the fish
  22. present — the time now
  23. bank — for money
  24. perch — for a bird

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