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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. land — a country
  3. capital — money
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cap — of ice
  15. drill — army training
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. capital — a city
  21. spell — magic
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spell — letters

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