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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. fine — all right
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fine — high quality
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — money
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — a city
  23. rush — a thrill
  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