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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — a city
  3. kick — in football
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. sharp — clever
  16. net — for catching
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. net — in sport
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. net — after costs
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tube — a container
  24. rush — a thrill

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