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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cap — a hat
  6. present — a gift
  7. cap — a lid
  8. press — to push
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. present — there
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. press — newspapers
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — finally
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cap — of ice
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. perch — the fish
  23. last — to go on
  24. trunk — of a car

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