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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 124 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — to bear
  5. squash — the sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — money
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. squash — to crush
  22. fall — the season
  23. clip — a video
  24. squash — the vegetable

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