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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. track — a path
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. capital — money
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bank — for money
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. track — a song
  15. bank — of a river
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bank — for money
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a big letter

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