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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — to crush
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fine — all right
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. fine — high quality
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. present — the time now
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pass — a permit
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — a city
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pass — to succeed

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