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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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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: bore · capital · fan · wax · chip · kid · rest · pound

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — a weight
  3. capital — a city
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — money
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wax — to grow
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rest — a break
  24. bore — to drill

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