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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 · ground · stick · capital · wound · wax · clip · game

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. game — a match
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — to grow
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ground — a position
  16. clip — a video
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. game — wild animals
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. capital — a city

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