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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. capital — a city
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pop — to visit
  16. squash — the sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pop — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. capital — money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pop — soda

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