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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. land — a country
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — money
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. land — to come down
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — a stick
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. capital — a big letter

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