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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. band — a ring
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a city
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lean — to bend
  11. band — a music group
  12. fine — all right
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. face — to confront
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. fine — high quality
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lean — to rest against

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