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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bound — certain
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. net — for catching
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bound — obliged
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. key — for a lock
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. net — in sport
  15. key — the most important part
  16. kid — child
  17. net — after costs
  18. key — in music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bound — tied together
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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