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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ground — a position
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. capital — a city
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. current — of water
  9. capital — money
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. hand — help
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — in sport
  23. wax — to grow
  24. ground — the earth

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