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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. capital — a city
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a skill
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. chest — of your body
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — to grow
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chest — a box
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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