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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · press · tear · arm · capital · wax

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. press — newspapers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wax — to grow
  13. capital — money
  14. tear — to rip
  15. press — a publisher
  16. capital — a city
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. press — to push

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