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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hand — help
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. kid — child
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. capital — money
  24. calf — a young animal

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