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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. root — the cause
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — of a word
  7. capital — money
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. firm — steady
  12. capital — a city
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — to grow
  15. sharp — clever
  16. tear — from crying
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. root — of a plant
  19. firm — decided
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — music
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pop — to visit

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