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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 120 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: club · deal · rush · perch · capital · march · racket · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. club — for dancing
  3. capital — money
  4. rush — hurry
  5. deal — to handle
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — final
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. march — music
  10. capital — a city
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. march — the month
  13. club — a group
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — finally
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. march — the month
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. club — for golf

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