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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. face — part of the head
  3. club — for golf
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. club — for dancing
  6. face — to confront
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. object — a thing
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. club — a group
  14. object — an aim
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — to point toward
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — a series
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rash — hasty
  22. clip — for paper
  23. object — to protest
  24. clip — to cut

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