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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · season · wind · net · wax · capital · bear · face

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. net — in sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. face — part of the head
  10. game — a match
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wax — to grow
  15. season — in sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wind — moving air
  18. net — after costs
  19. face — to confront
  20. capital — money
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — of the year
  23. face — to point toward
  24. net — for catching

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