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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — a line
  6. can — a tin
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. can — to be able to
  10. club — for dancing
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. capital — money
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fine — all right
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. can — a tin
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. capital — a city
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — in an idiom

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