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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — finally
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. last — final
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. press — to push
  13. kick — in football
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. last — to go on
  19. rule — a law
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rule — government
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rule — to rule out

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