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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: capital · fall · drill · roll · content · safe · wax · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. capital — money
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. fall — to drop
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. capital — a city
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. content — happy
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. roll — a cake
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. roll — a list
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wax — to grow

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