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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 116 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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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 · wake · swing · rash · tear · capital · cell · bulb

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — to play on
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rash — a series
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rash — hasty
  16. swing — music
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. capital — a city
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bulb — for light
  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