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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bore — to drill
  3. wax — to grow
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. suit — in cards
  6. capital — money
  7. ground — a position
  8. march — the month
  9. suit — clothes
  10. ground — crushed
  11. march — music
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. capital — a city
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bore — to tire
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. ground — the earth
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. suit — to fit
  24. dip — a sauce

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