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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — an illness
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — a friend
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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