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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kick — in football
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. capital — a city
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — to grow
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. prune — to trim
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. last — finally

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