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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. charge — in control
  6. net — for catching
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. ball — a great time
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wax — to grow
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. net — in sport
  22. ball — a dance
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. calf — of the leg

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