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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — a video
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — money
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pop — music
  16. mug — a face
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a city
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pop — soda

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