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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. band — a music group
  4. bound — tied together
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — a city
  10. shower — to wash
  11. press — to push
  12. key — in music
  13. press — a publisher
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wax — to grow
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — a big letter

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