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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. capital — a city
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kick — in football
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. deal — to handle
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — money
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pass — a permit

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