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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. net — in sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. object — to protest
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. capital — money
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. object — a thing
  16. bass — low music
  17. object — an aim
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. bore — to tire
  24. wound — an injury

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