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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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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: net · can · fall · kid · stick · capital · perch · bat

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. net — for catching
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — in sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — the animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — after costs
  14. fall — the season
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. capital — money
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. can — a tin
  24. kid — child

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