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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 · capital · mug · fall · racket · charge · fork · kid

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mug — a cup
  5. capital — a city
  6. mug — a face
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mug — to rob
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — child
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. charge — a price
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fall — the season
  23. charge — in control
  24. fall — to drop

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