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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lean — thin
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. last — to go on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. capital — money
  8. lean — to bend
  9. wax — to grow
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — a city
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bass — low music
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cap — a hat
  18. last — final
  19. rash — a series
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bass — the instrument

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