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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. tube — the underground
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. root — of a word
  6. suit — clothes
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. perch — the fish
  9. capital — a city
  10. season — in sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a line of people
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. file — a document
  17. season — of the year
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. root — the cause
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. capital — money
  23. suit — to fit
  24. file — a tool

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