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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: tear · last · perch · deal · capital · fan · mouse · leaves

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a city
  4. deal — to handle
  5. capital — money
  6. last — to go on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — final
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — finally
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mouse — the animal

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