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

Word bank: cabinet · march · wax · kick · rule · snap · capital · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. capital — money
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. perch — the fish
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. kick — in football
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — to grow
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. rule — government
  20. march — music
  21. rule — a law
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. wax — for sculpting

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