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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: mark · chest · root · capital · scale · wax · march · last

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. march — music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. last — final
  5. mark — a grade
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chest — of your body
  9. capital — money
  10. last — finally
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. chest — a box
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. last — to go on
  18. root — the cause
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. scale — in music
  24. root — of a word

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