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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stand — to bear
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. can — a tin
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wax — to grow
  15. can — a tin
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — a series
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stand — for spectators

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