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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: mark · capital · perch · kid · straw · fork · temple · ground

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. kid — child
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mark — a grade
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fork — in a road
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. capital — a city
  17. mark — a trace
  18. kid — to tease
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ground — the earth
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. capital — a big letter
  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