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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. present — there
  8. chip — to eat
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitch — completely
  17. capital — money
  18. pit — in a race
  19. present — a gift
  20. capital — a city
  21. craft — boats
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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