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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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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: object · perch · land · pound · tube · can · capital · deal

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tube — the underground
  3. can — to be able to
  4. object — an aim
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tube — a container
  10. land — ground
  11. deal — to handle
  12. object — a thing
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. can — a tin
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. can — a tin
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. capital — a city

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