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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kid — to tease
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kid — child
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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