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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. capital — money
  3. perch — the fish
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wax — to grow
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ground — a position
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. hide — to keep secret

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