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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
468
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: mate · capital · coach · wind · wax · pop · bear · ground

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. capital — a city
  5. ground — a position
  6. pop — music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pop — to visit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pop — soda
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. mate — to breed
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. coach — a trainer

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