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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a city
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — army training
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — not warm
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cold — an illness
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — to grow
  23. deal — to handle
  24. nail — for a hammer

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