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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. track — to keep track
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — a country
  11. object — to protest
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — to come down
  15. capital — money
  16. object — an aim
  17. land — ground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. capital — a city
  22. track — a song
  23. object — a thing
  24. track — a path

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