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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. band — a music group
  3. rest — what's left
  4. band — a ring
  5. rest — a break
  6. capital — money
  7. rest — what's left
  8. race — humankind
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. capital — a city
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. swing — music
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. swing — to play on
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. race — a contest
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. swing — in golf

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