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

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — to grow
  3. field — for sport
  4. present — a gift
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mark — a grade
  8. field — farmland
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. present — the time now
  13. field — a subject
  14. mug — a face
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. present — there
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — a trace
  21. plane — a tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mark — to pay attention

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