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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 120 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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. spell — a short time
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. spell — magic
  6. clip — a video
  7. swing — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. sharp — clever
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — money
  16. swing — to play on
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spell — letters
  19. lie — to recline
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. clip — for paper

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