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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 124 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — for catching
  7. march — the month
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. march — the month
  20. net — after costs
  21. tear — from crying
  22. net — in sport
  23. band — a music group
  24. wax — to grow

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