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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: spring · capital · wake · rush · ball · wax · face · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wound — an injury
  4. capital — money
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wax — to grow
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a city
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. ball — a dance
  19. face — to point toward
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rush — hurry
  24. ball — a great time

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