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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. suit — clothes
  3. clip — to cut
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. capital — money
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. suit — to fit
  14. rush — hurry
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. perch — the fish
  19. clip — a video
  20. capital — a city
  21. suit — in cards
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — for paper

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