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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 116 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 · mate · capital · tear · race · scale · fall · mouse

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — a city
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mate — a partner
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. tear — from crying
  20. race — a contest
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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