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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — in sport
  4. tube — a container
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — after costs
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stand — to bear
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ball — a great time
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — money

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