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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — a stone
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. capital — a city
  11. wax — to grow
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. band — a ring
  15. chest — a box
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chest — of your body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rock — music
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. band — a music group
  24. snap — to click

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