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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — money
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. coach — a trainer

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