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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: capital · march · ground · pound · wax · chair · jam · band

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. capital — a city
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a ring
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — money
  16. march — the month
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — crushed

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