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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pass — a permit
  3. capital — money
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cell — in biology
  8. net — for catching
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — after costs
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — not warm
  24. 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