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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stick · shower · scale · bat · capital · fan

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. shower — rain
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. club — for golf
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. shower — to wash
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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