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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. present — there
  3. mate — a partner
  4. scale — in music
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — to breed
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rush — hurry
  11. present — the time now
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — for sport
  15. capital — money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mate — a friend
  18. field — farmland
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. field — a subject
  22. present — a gift
  23. wax — to grow
  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