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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a hat
  6. track — to keep track
  7. capital — a city
  8. perch — the fish
  9. present — there
  10. track — a path
  11. court — of law
  12. cap — a lid
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bear — the animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. track — a song
  19. bear — the animal
  20. present — a gift
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. capital — money
  23. cap — of ice
  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