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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cue — a hint
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. march — music
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. capital — a city
  24. pass — to spend time

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