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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · bay · racket · capital · wax · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. capital — a city
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — money
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. wind — moving air

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