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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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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: cap · squash · lean · capital · land · wax · firm · perch

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cap — a lid
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cap — of ice
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. firm — a company
  9. land — to come down
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. firm — decided
  13. squash — to crush
  14. perch — the fish
  15. land — a country
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a city
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. lean — thin
  21. wax — to grow
  22. land — ground
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. capital — money

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