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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: pitcher · last · wound · racket · ruler · perch · deal · capital

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a city
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. last — finally
  13. capital — money
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. last — to go on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. last — final
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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