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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pop — soda
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a ring
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. capital — a city
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a music group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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