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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: ball · saw · capital · wax · key · wake · spring · craft

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. spring — a coil
  6. craft — boats
  7. key — in music
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. craft — a skill
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. saw — the tool
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — money
  23. key — the most important part
  24. spring — 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