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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mark — a trace
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. land — ground
  6. lie — to recline
  7. cold — an illness
  8. march — the month
  9. land — a country
  10. mark — a grade
  11. land — to come down
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wax — to grow
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. capital — a city
  24. wax — in the ear

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