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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.

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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: wax · bound · cap · pass · current · capital · cold · fall

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. capital — a city
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fall — to drop
  10. current — happening now
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. current — of water
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pass — a permit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bound — tied together
  18. current — electric
  19. cap — a hat
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. capital — money
  23. cap — a lid
  24. fall — the season

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