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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.

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: mine · capital · bore · chest · sharp · spell · fall · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — to drill
  3. chest — a box
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — a short time
  7. capital — a city
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spell — magic
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spell — letters
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fall — to drop
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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