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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: trunk · wind · perch · ground · capital · pop · saw · temple

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a city
  7. pop — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. saw — the tool
  10. perch — the fish
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. ground — a position
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — money
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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