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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: dip · perch · pitcher · date · clip · spell · bound · capital

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — to cut
  3. perch — the fish
  4. capital — money
  5. bound — tied together
  6. date — the fruit
  7. spell — magic
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spell — a short time
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bound — obliged
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — letters
  18. capital — a city
  19. bound — certain
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — a big letter

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