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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. capital — money
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kick — in football
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fall — the season
  8. fork — in a road
  9. branch — a division
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pit — in a race
  16. game — wild animals
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pit — a hole
  19. capital — a city
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fall — to drop

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