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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bore — to tire
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bear — the animal
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bear — the animal
  11. present — there
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. present — the time now
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. sharp — clever
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. present — a gift
  24. bore — to drill

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