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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. charge — a price
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. charge — electricity
  6. shower — rain
  7. capital — money
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — in sport
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. capital — a city
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. staff — employees
  15. net — after costs
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wax — to grow
  18. charge — in control
  19. staff — a stick
  20. net — for catching
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. staff — employees
  24. wax — for sculpting

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