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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cap — a lid
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. prune — to trim
  14. firm — steady
  15. march — music
  16. firm — a company
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. firm — decided
  19. last — final
  20. cap — of ice
  21. capital — money
  22. wax — to grow
  23. capital — a city
  24. prune — the fruit

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