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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
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: capital · face · wax · kick · spell · season · bark · rock

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. season — of the year
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bark — to shout
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spell — letters
  10. kick — in football
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. face — to confront
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rock — music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. capital — a city
  20. season — in sport
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wax — in the ear

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