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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — money
  3. club — for golf
  4. cap — a hat
  5. key — in music
  6. file — a line of people
  7. club — for dancing
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a document
  14. content — happy
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. march — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. club — a group
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wax — to grow
  24. key — the most important part

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