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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. capital — money
  6. land — to come down
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — a price
  10. scale — size or range
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — the animal
  13. charge — electricity
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fall — the season
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. charge — in control
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. land — a country
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. capital — a city

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