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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: capital · race · wound · board · bore · perch · roll · straw

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. capital — a city
  4. wound — an injury
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. roll — a list
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. capital — money
  9. wound — an injury
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. roll — a cake
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. board — a committee
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — the fish
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. race — a contest
  20. board — to get on
  21. bore — to drill
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — a big letter

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