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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: wax · roll · tear · capital · patient · deal · perch · stick

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. capital — a city
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — to grow
  12. deal — to handle
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. roll — on a roll

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