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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: board · wax · stem · toast · lean · capital · march · court

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. court — of law
  5. board — to get on
  6. march — music
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. court — for sport
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. lean — thin
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lean — to bend
  19. capital — money
  20. board — a committee
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. court — of a king
  24. toast — bread

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