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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. lean — to bend
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. capital — a city
  24. lean — thin

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