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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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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: rush · net · chest · kid · wax · cap · capital · bound

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cap — of ice
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rush — hurry
  11. net — for catching
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bound — tied together
  14. net — in sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kid — child
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. net — after costs
  24. chest — a box

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