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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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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 · land · mouse · hide · race · band · capital · pit

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pit — in a race
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. race — humankind
  7. pit — a hole
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. land — a country
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. land — ground
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. band — a music group
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — the arms race
  20. capital — money
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. race — a contest
  24. hide — to keep secret

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