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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. perch — the fish
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. stand — to bear
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cap — a lid
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a city
  24. cap — of ice

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