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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. file — a tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. file — a document
  6. capital — a city
  7. court — of a king
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tear — to rip
  11. court — of law
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — from crying
  14. file — a line of people
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — money
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. court — for sport

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