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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. perch — the fish
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bore — to tire
  6. root — the cause
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bark — to shout
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. root — of a plant
  14. capital — money
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. root — of a word
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. date — the fruit
  23. perch — for a bird
  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