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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 116 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. present — there
  5. season — in sport
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. present — the time now
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a city
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — money
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mine — for digging
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. present — a gift
  24. deal — an agreement

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