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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: foot · capital · tear · clip · wax · roll · hide · date

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — money
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — a city
  10. foot — a measure
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — to cut
  15. roll — a cake
  16. tear — from crying
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — a video
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. roll — a list
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. wax — to grow

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