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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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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: court · bore · race · stick · wax · capital · prune · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wax — to grow
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — humankind
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bore — to drill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. court — of a king
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. capital — money
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. court — of law
  19. race — a contest
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. court — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wax — in the ear

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