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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 120 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: deal · cue · land · club · leaves · mate · capital · wax

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. club — for golf
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cue — a signal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. land — to come down
  16. deal — to handle
  17. capital — money
  18. wax — to grow
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. capital — a city
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. land — ground
  24. mate — a friend

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