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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lean — thin
  5. capital — a city
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pass — a permit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. root — the cause
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. perch — the fish
  17. root — of a plant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — bread
  22. capital — money
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — for a bird

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