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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wax — to grow
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. file — a document
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. last — to go on
  9. capital — a city
  10. last — finally
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. file — a tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — final
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. snap — to click
  23. capital — money
  24. cabinet — ministers

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