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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. court — for sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. court — of a king
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. row — a line
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. row — to paddle
  13. capital — money
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. court — of law

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