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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 120 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. capital — a city
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mark — a trace
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cap — a hat
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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