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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. mug — to rob
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — money
  5. cap — of ice
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rush — hurry
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mug — a face
  14. chest — a box
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. capital — a city
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mug — a cup
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cap — a hat
  23. coach — a trainer
  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