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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. scale — in music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. season — in sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fall — the season
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. season — of the year
  18. capital — money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — size or range
  24. tear — to rip

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