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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — from a university
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. game — a match
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. degree — an amount
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. season — to add flavour

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