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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — a city
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bore — to tire
  10. object — a thing
  11. content — the amount
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a ring
  24. bore — to drill

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