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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bank — for money
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spring — a coil
  17. capital — money
  18. bank — for money
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. rest — what's left

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