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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. net — in sport
  3. lean — thin
  4. snap — to click
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — after costs
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. squash — the sport
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. squash — to crush
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rush — hurry
  21. capital — a city
  22. plane — a tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. plane — in geometry

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