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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: land · leaves · march · perch · spring · ball · staff · capital

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. perch — the fish
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a city
  6. ball — a dance
  7. land — to come down
  8. spring — a coil
  9. march — music
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — the season
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. march — the month
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. staff — a stick
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. capital — money
  24. ball — a great time

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