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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fine — high quality
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — a city
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — farmland
  18. fine — all right
  19. game — a match
  20. capital — money
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pound — a weight
  23. field — for sport
  24. fan — to cool the air

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