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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pop — to visit
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pop — music
  8. can — a tin
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pop — soda
  15. tube — a container
  16. land — a country
  17. capital — a city
  18. can — to be able to
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. can — a tin
  22. capital — money
  23. squash — to crush
  24. land — to come down

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