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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — final
  10. capital — money
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. row — to paddle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kick — in football
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. racket — for tennis

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