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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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 big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cold — an illness
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. capital — money
  17. perch — for a bird
  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