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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 124 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — electric
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wax — to grow
  8. march — the month
  9. current — happening now
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — finally
  12. bound — certain
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. current — of water
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — tied together
  19. last — final
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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