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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: spring · wake · clip · squash · wax · mark · capital · bear

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wake — a trail
  6. clip — to cut
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a city
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bear — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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