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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: row · march · scale · temple · capital · court · ground · wax

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a city
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — of law
  11. ground — the earth
  12. scale — size or range
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. capital — money
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — for sport
  18. ground — a position
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. scale — in music
  23. wax — to grow
  24. scale — for weighing

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