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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. capital — a city
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. tube — the underground
  5. kid — to tease
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wound — an injury
  8. face — to point toward
  9. squash — to crush
  10. tube — a container
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. face — to confront
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. kid — child
  19. squash — the sport
  20. face — part of the head
  21. capital — money
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wound — an injury

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