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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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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: capital · lean · bear · date · key · cell · perch · tear

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. key — the most important part
  2. bear — the animal
  3. perch — the fish
  4. lean — thin
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — to bend
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — to rip
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bear — the animal
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in biology
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. key — in music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cell — a phone
  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