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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. craft — boats
  4. spell — letters
  5. tube — a container
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spell — magic
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. hand — help
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. capital — money
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. can — to be able to
  19. court — of law
  20. hand — in cards
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. capital — a city
  24. 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