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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — a city
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. branch — a division
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — money
  10. march — music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — the month
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. last — finally
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wax — to grow
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wax — for sculpting

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