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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.

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: fan · mate · track · wax · kid · capital · drill · field

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. field — for sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. kid — child
  7. wax — to grow
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. track — a path
  11. mate — a friend
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — a subject
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — money
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — army training
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kid — to tease
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wax — for sculpting

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