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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — money
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. present — there
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. capital — a city
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. present — a gift
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — a partner
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. present — the time now
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wind — moving air

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