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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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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: capital · mug · game · cell · spring · chair · snap · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. capital — money
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spring — of water
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — a phone
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mug — a cup
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mug — to rob
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — the season
  24. mug — a face

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