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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a city
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. vault — a safe
  13. cap — a lid
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cap — a hat
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — all right
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cap — of ice

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