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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — the cause
  4. capital — money
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. last — finally
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. last — to go on
  15. root — of a plant
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — of a word
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. last — final

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