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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. present — there
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bear — the animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bear — the animal
  12. firm — steady
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — to be able to
  20. present — a gift
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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