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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 · wax · chip · snap · mate · capital · scale · perch

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. capital — money
  4. scale — in music
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wax — to grow
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to click
  22. bore — to drill
  23. capital — a city
  24. scale — size or range

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