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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rest — what's left
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rest — a break
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. root — the cause
  14. capital — a city
  15. current — happening now
  16. capital — money
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. current — of water
  19. root — of a word
  20. clip — a video
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wax — to grow
  23. current — electric
  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