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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. can — a tin
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pound — a weight
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. file — a line of people

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