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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: capital · perch · rule · clip · leaves · file · pitcher · wax

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. file — a tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. clip — to cut
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rule — government
  12. capital — money
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a document
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — a video
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — for paper

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