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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: temple · wind · capital · rush · bank · kid · swing · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. bank — of a river
  12. swing — music
  13. capital — money
  14. swing — in golf
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. kid — child
  17. wind — moving air
  18. perch — the fish
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bank — for money
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bank — for money

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