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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ground — crushed
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bank — for money
  5. drill — army training
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. wax — to grow
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. last — to go on
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. bank — of a river
  16. capital — a city
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — finally
  20. object — an aim
  21. ground — the earth
  22. last — final
  23. bank — for money
  24. drill — the tool

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