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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · shower · stock · wax · march · cap · rock · capital

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. march — music
  5. stock — shares
  6. wax — to grow
  7. rock — music
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — a city
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cap — a hat
  13. capital — money
  14. march — the month
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rock — a stone
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. stock — goods
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rock — to move gently

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