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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mark — a trace
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. swing — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cell — a phone
  14. swing — to play on
  15. mark — a grade
  16. capital — money
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hand — in cards
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. swing — in golf
  22. hand — help
  23. leaves — to go away
  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