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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. club — a group
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. scale — size or range
  7. club — for golf
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ball — a great time
  13. scale — in music
  14. capital — a city
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. club — for dancing
  19. tube — a container
  20. capital — money
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wax — to grow
  24. tube — the underground

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