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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. capital — money
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wax — to grow

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