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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — to grow
  3. can — to be able to
  4. court — for sport
  5. lean — thin
  6. can — a tin
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. present — there
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. court — of a king
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. clip — to cut
  18. court — of law
  19. clip — a video
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. present — the time now
  22. can — a tin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. capital — a city

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