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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 124 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. charge — a price
  6. capital — money
  7. snap — to click
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. charge — electricity
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — rain
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. capital — a city
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. shower — to wash
  23. charge — in control
  24. wax — in the ear

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