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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — the season
  3. capital — money
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. club — for golf
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. spring — a coil
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. march — the month
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to click
  21. fall — to drop
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — the season
  24. club — a group

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