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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: wax · rash · pitch · bore · capital · last · shower · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. capital — money
  8. shower — rain
  9. bore — to drill
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bore — to tire
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rash — a series
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. last — final
  24. shower — to wash

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