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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: capital · date · scale · mine · drill · perch · march · mouse

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. date — the fruit
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. drill — a practice
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. march — music
  17. capital — money
  18. mine — for digging
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. scale — size or range
  21. march — the month
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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