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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. hand — in cards
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a city
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kick — in football
  9. mark — a trace
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mark — a grade
  24. capital — money

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