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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. capital — money
  12. can — a tin
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — the month
  17. can — a tin
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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