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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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468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitch — completely
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wax — to grow
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cell — a phone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. capital — money
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. kick — in football
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cell — in biology
  24. nail — on a finger

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