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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lie — to recline
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. capital — a city
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pound — a weight
  16. scale — size or range
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. capital — money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wax — to grow
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pound — for dogs

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