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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. sharp — clever
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. track — to keep track
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pit — in a race
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. track — a path
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wax — to grow
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — a song
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — money
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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