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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. perch — the fish
  3. field — a subject
  4. pass — a permit
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — to handle
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. capital — a city
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. field — for sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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