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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mate — a partner
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. net — for catching
  8. mate — to breed
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. net — in sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pass — a permit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pass — to spend time

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