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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: capital · staff · rest · ball · clip · deal · perch · bowl

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. staff — employees
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ball — a great time
  9. staff — a stick
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rest — what's left
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rest — what's left
  20. staff — employees
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rest — a break
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bowl — a dish

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