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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. game — wild animals
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — money
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. kick — in football
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wax — to grow
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. tube — the underground
  17. band — a ring
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. game — a match
  20. capital — a city
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. band — a music group
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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