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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. season — in sport
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. capital — a city
  6. current — electric
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. stock — goods
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — money
  11. perch — the fish
  12. season — of the year
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. current — of water
  15. stock — shares
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. current — happening now
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pass — a permit

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