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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. capital — money
  10. wax — to grow
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ball — a great time
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ball — a dance
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pass — a permit

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