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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · capital · stock · hand · fork · squash · cap · wax

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. hand — help
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — the sport
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — money
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. hand — in cards
  22. capital — a city
  23. fork — to eat with
  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