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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: kid · perch · stick · stem · capital · mouse · bound · racket

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — to tease
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bound — obliged
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — money
  17. bound — certain
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — to come from
  21. capital — a city
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bound — tied together

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