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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — a city
  4. last — final
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. march — the month
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — music
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. pitch — completely
  16. last — finally
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. drill — army training
  21. capital — money
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pitch — a sports field

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