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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.

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: perch · spring · pound · fall · date · capital · rush · roll

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. spring — the season
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. roll — a cake
  15. capital — money
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. perch — the fish
  18. capital — a city
  19. fall — the season
  20. rush — hurry
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. roll — a list
  23. fall — to drop
  24. date — the fruit

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