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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: straw · track · toast · chest · drill · net · capital · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. net — in sport
  6. toast — bread
  7. drill — the tool
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. net — for catching
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. capital — money
  18. net — after costs
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. capital — a city
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chest — of your body
  23. perch — the fish
  24. toast — a drink to someone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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