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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hand — help
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — humankind
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — ground
  11. race — a contest
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — a city
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — a country
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. capital — money
  20. land — to come down
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wax — to grow
  24. capital — a big letter

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