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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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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: fine · pitcher · capital · file · present · squash · wax · mate

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. capital — money
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mate — a friend
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. present — the time now
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — a gift
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. present — there
  24. fine — all right

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