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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a city
  4. date — the fruit
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — money
  12. club — a group
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. deal — to handle
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. sharp — clever
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — for dancing
  24. sharp — exactly

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