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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: file · fine · mate · cell · date · leaves · perch · capital

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. date — the fruit
  5. file — a tool
  6. mate — a friend
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a document
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a line of people
  11. capital — money
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mate — a partner
  15. perch — the fish
  16. capital — a city
  17. cell — a phone
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. fine — all right
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — high quality

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