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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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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bore — to tire
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — money
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. perch — the fish
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — a video
  18. bore — to drill
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. court — of law
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — for sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of a king

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