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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — money
  8. rest — a break
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. face — to confront
  16. fall — the season
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. season — in sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — what's left
  24. capital — a city

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