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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: squash · stem · perch · straw · capital · bowl · saw · march

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. squash — to crush
  3. capital — a city
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. stem — to come from
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. perch — the fish

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