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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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — completely
  4. capital — a city
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mine — for digging
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — money
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. fork — a garden tool

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