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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. track — a path
  5. capital — a city
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. capital — money
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. can — a tin
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. scale — in music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. scale — size or range
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wax — to grow

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