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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — thin
  8. last — to go on
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. game — a match
  13. last — final
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lean — to bend
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. last — finally
  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