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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bank — for money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bank — for money
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. ground — crushed
  17. capital — money
  18. ground — a position
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — child
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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