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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cell — in biology
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — a city
  18. cell — a phone
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. degree — temperature

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