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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. shower — rain
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wind — moving air
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. current — of water
  10. perch — the fish
  11. swing — in golf
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. swing — music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. current — electric
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. deal — to handle
  21. current — happening now
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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