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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wax — to grow
  5. craft — boats
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. net — after costs
  13. board — a committee
  14. toast — bread
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. board — to get on
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. net — for catching

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