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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.

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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 · row · capital · wound · deal · mine · bowl · wind

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. capital — money
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. capital — a city
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a line
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — for digging
  20. deal — to handle
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — belonging to me

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