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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. current — of water
  3. face — to confront
  4. capital — a city
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. capital — money
  8. face — part of the head
  9. current — electric
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. current — happening now
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. wax — to grow
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. game — a match
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. calf — of the leg

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