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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. shower — to wash
  6. face — to confront
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. face — part of the head
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. shower — rain
  24. wax — in the ear

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