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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: deal · pop · wax · race · face · capital · pass · spell

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pop — to visit
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. capital — money
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — letters
  8. pop — soda
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pass — a permit
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. race — a contest
  17. pop — music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pass — to spend time

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