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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a committee
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bat — the animal
  12. board — to get on
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — to grow
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. court — for sport
  24. toast — bread

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