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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cap — a lid
  8. last — final
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — money
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. capital — a city
  18. last — to go on
  19. drill — army training
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. last — finally
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — the tool

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