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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. capital — a city
  6. vault — a safe
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — a gift
  11. kick — in football
  12. content — happy
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. present — there
  15. content — the amount
  16. present — the time now
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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