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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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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 · pit · clip · craft · mate · cabinet · wax · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. capital — a city
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wax — to grow
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. capital — money
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  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