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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — finally
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. shower — rain
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. shower — to wash
  8. last — to go on
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. last — final
  15. capital — money
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. hand — help
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. present — there
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

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