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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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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 · spring · capital · bear · bore · chair · rock · swing

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rock — music
  4. bore — to drill
  5. swing — to play on
  6. spring — of water
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rock — a stone
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — money
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bore — to tire
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. spring — a coil
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bear — the animal
  24. swing — 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