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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ground — crushed
  4. capital — a city
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bulb — for light
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. staff — employees
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pit — a hole
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. perch — the fish
  16. staff — employees
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — a position
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pit — in a race
  23. capital — money
  24. bulb — for light

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