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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: capital · wax · arm · saw · kick · ball · toast · file

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — a city
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. toast — bread
  11. saw — the tool
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. capital — money
  14. file — a document
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. file — a tool
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. saw — the tool
  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