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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. capital — money
  9. key — in music
  10. fine — high quality
  11. saw — the tool
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bore — to drill
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. capital — a city
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — all right
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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