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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — to grow
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. present — the time now
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. club — a group
  11. shower — rain
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. club — for golf
  15. present — a gift
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. capital — a city
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. present — there
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ruler — for measuring

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