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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  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. capital — a city
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. toast — bread
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to click
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. face — to confront
  10. stem — to come from
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pass — a permit
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. face — part of the head
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  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