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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: plane · lean · ground · hide · capital · wax · pop · rest

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — money
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. lean — to bend
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. capital — a city
  15. wax — to grow
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pop — to visit
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rest — a break
  24. lean — thin

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