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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 116 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bank — for money
  3. rush — hurry
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. capital — a city
  9. pass — a permit
  10. shower — rain
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — for money
  21. capital — money
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bank — of a river
  24. rush — a thrill

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