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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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rest — what's left
  6. file — a tool
  7. rest — a break
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. capital — a city
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rash — hasty
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bound — certain
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rash — a series
  22. capital — money
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bound — tied together

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