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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 · calf · straw · present · patient · shower · wax · tube

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. capital — a city
  8. tube — the underground
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. present — a gift
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. present — the time now
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. tube — a container
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. capital — money
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wax — to grow
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. shower — to wash

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