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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.

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: rush · date · wax · deal · face · capital · bay · last

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. capital — a city
  8. date — the fruit
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. deal — to handle
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. last — finally
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. face — to confront
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. capital — money

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