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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: wax · ruler · hand · board · wind · perch · capital · deal

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. deal — to handle
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. hand — in cards
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. capital — a city
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. capital — money

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