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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 · saw · cap · wax · toast · tear · bass · wound

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cap — of ice
  3. capital — a city
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — low music
  6. saw — the tool
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wound — an injury
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. tear — to rip
  20. capital — money
  21. bass — the fish
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cap — a lid
  24. toast — bread

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