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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: mark · perch · present · race · capital · spell · fall · content

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. present — there
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — magic
  11. race — the arms race
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. race — a contest
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. race — humankind
  18. fall — the season
  19. present — the time now
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. present — a gift
  23. capital — a city
  24. mark — a grade

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