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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.

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: bowl · present · can · mate · swing · saw · capital · wax

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. can — a tin
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. present — a gift
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. present — there
  12. can — a tin
  13. present — the time now
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. swing — music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wax — to grow
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — money
  24. swing — in golf

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