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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — to grow
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. kid — child
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — a city
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. row — a line
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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