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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — to come down
  4. press — newspapers
  5. perch — the fish
  6. march — music
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. land — ground
  13. march — the month
  14. press — a publisher
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. press — to push
  23. march — the month
  24. land — a country

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