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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. net — after costs
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. capital — a city
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. capital — money
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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