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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rest — what's left
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — help
  8. rest — a break
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wax — to grow
  11. shower — rain
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. capital — a city

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