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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: march · kick · bear · wax · straw · capital · pop · game

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pop — soda
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pop — music
  21. game — a match
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kick — in football

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