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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: bark · present · capital · march · wax · bound · press · mouse

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. bark — to shout
  8. march — music
  9. press — newspapers
  10. present — a gift
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. capital — money
  14. march — the month
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. present — the time now
  20. press — to push
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. march — the month
  24. present — there

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