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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. drill — the tool
  4. face — to confront
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — a city
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. can — to be able to
  9. drill — army training
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. can — a tin
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — money
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ground — a position
  16. season — of the year
  17. ground — crushed
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — part of the head
  22. can — a tin
  23. drill — a practice
  24. capital — a big letter

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