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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: bear · perch · deal · capital · cell · wind · arm · content

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cell — a phone
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. content — the amount
  11. cell — in biology
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bear — the animal
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — money
  17. content — happy
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. arm — part of the body

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