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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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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: capital · wind · mug · wax · temple · bark · snap · racket

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mug — a face
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wind — moving air
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. snap — to click
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mug — a cup
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mug — to rob
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — a city

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