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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. suit — in cards
  7. kick — in football
  8. capital — money
  9. suit — clothes
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. clip — a video
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. clip — to cut

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