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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a city
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. capital — money
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mug — a cup
  18. clip — to cut
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. clip — a video

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