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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: saw · ground · perch · tear · capital · rock · coach · rule

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — government
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. capital — money
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rock — music
  11. capital — a city
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rule — a law
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tear — from crying
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. tear — to rip
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rule — to rule out

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