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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. season — of the year
  4. lean — thin
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. file — a tool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. file — a document
  24. lean — to bend

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