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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. toast — bread
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. capital — money
  8. band — a ring
  9. chest — of your body
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. band — a music group
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pound — a weight
  16. craft — boats
  17. wax — to grow
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. toast — the most admired

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