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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — there
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. present — a gift
  16. capital — money
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chest — a box
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. present — the time now
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ruler — a monarch

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