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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. wax — to grow
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cue — for pool
  8. capital — money
  9. fine — all right
  10. row — to paddle
  11. last — to go on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fall — the season
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. cue — a hint
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a line

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