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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. saw — the tool
  5. root — of a plant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. root — of a word
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. root — the cause
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cell — a phone
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. capital — money
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cell — in biology

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