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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: perch · staff · wound · capital · bay · racket · toast · pop

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wound — an injury
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. toast — bread
  17. pop — music
  18. perch — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. staff — employees
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. capital — a city
  23. staff — employees
  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