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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 120 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: perch · club · mine · craft · staff · spell · capital · season

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — the fish
  3. spell — letters
  4. craft — a skill
  5. staff — employees
  6. spell — a short time
  7. club — for dancing
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. club — for golf
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. capital — money
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. craft — boats
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. mine — for digging
  21. club — a group
  22. staff — a stick
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. spell — magic

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