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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: band · season · wax · hand · capital · rush · mark · net

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. net — after costs
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. band — a ring
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — money
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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