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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 116 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 · mate · snap · fall · march · rock · spell · capital

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — letters
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — the fish
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. rock — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a city
  10. rock — a stone
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spell — a short time
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. march — the month
  21. spell — magic
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mate — a friend

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