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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. drill — army training
  3. fork — in a road
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a ring
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. stock — goods
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pass — a permit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. drill — a practice
  23. band — a music group
  24. stock — a soup base

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