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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rock — music
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rock — a stone
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — the fish
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. dip — to sink
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ball — a dance
  19. capital — money
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. dip — a sauce

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