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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cap — a lid
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. vault — a safe
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. capital — money
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. hand — help
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. capital — a big letter

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