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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: wax · spell · leaves · date · capital · tube · fall · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wax — to grow
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tube — the underground
  7. capital — money
  8. spell — magic
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. capital — a city
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. tube — a container
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. race — humankind
  23. spell — letters
  24. leaves — lets stay

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