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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chest — a box
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. present — a gift
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. capital — a city
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — there
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. present — the time now
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wax — to grow

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