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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — to grow
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. capital — money
  9. suit — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. suit — to fit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. suit — clothes
  14. tube — a container
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tube — the underground

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