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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: field · capital · chest · fall · wax · perch · deal · cue

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fall — to drop
  6. deal — to handle
  7. capital — money
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — a city
  14. fall — the season
  15. chest — a box
  16. wax — to grow
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. field — a subject
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — farmland
  22. cue — a signal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. perch — for a bird

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