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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 124 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — money
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bore — to tire
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cap — a lid
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cap — a hat
  17. face — to confront
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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