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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wax — to grow
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — for catching
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — in sport
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — the month
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. net — after costs
  18. march — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. vault — a safe
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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