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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wax — to grow
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. suit — clothes
  9. capital — money
  10. ball — a great time
  11. suit — in cards
  12. file — a document
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. file — a tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. file — a line of people
  19. suit — to fit
  20. game — a match
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — a city
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ball — a round shape

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