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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — to grow
  5. capital — a city
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — after costs
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. capital — money
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. foot — a measure
  24. scale — size or range

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