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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.

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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 · tear · wax · arm · row · face · racket · spring

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. row — a line
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. capital — a city
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. capital — money
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spring — the season
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. spring — of water
  18. wax — to grow
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — to rip
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tear — from crying
  24. face — to confront

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