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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 116 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: row · bound · wax · cue · straw · capital · fan · drill

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. bound — certain
  4. cue — for pool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. drill — army training
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — to grow
  23. row — a line
  24. drill — the tool

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