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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. band — a music group
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kid — to tease
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. key — in music
  10. kid — child
  11. band — a ring
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. capital — a city
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. capital — money
  19. season — of the year
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pass — a permit
  22. season — in sport
  23. band — a rubber band
  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