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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. rash — hasty
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. band — a music group
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — music
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. sharp — clever
  20. march — the month
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. capital — a city
  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