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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pass — a permit
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. swing — music
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kick — in football
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. swing — in golf
  22. capital — money
  23. wound — an injury
  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