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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: fall · rest · rash · capital · wax · present · hide · pitcher

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. present — the time now
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rest — what's left
  12. present — a gift
  13. fall — the season
  14. rash — a series
  15. present — there
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. rest — a break
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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