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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. can — a tin
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. capital — a city
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bass — low music
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. ground — a position
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wax — for sculpting

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