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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: tube · bound · bat · bear · rash · perch · capital · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. tube — a container
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — the animal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bound — obliged
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bound — certain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. tube — the underground
  21. capital — a city
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rash — hasty
  24. capital — 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