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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. present — there
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. march — music
  10. capital — money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bulb — for light
  16. capital — a city
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — a gift
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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