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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: wax · bowl · capital · bass · roll · fall · race · pop

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. pop — music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pop — soda
  7. race — humankind
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — the season
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — a contest
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. wax — to grow
  22. capital — a city
  23. bass — low music
  24. bowl — a dish

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