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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.

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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: bank · march · capital · cold · wave · wax · mark · ground

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bank — of a river
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. capital — money
  11. ground — a position
  12. bank — for money
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cold — an illness
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. march — music
  24. mark — a grade

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