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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — of water
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — to grow
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — a city
  9. ground — crushed
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a ring
  13. march — music
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. capital — money
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a rubber band

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