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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. hand — in cards
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — to tease
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. kid — child
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — help
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. snap — to click
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hand — part of the body

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