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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: march · foot · capital · tear · bound · wax · pass · face

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. foot — a measure
  3. face — to confront
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. march — the month
  6. face — part of the head
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bound — certain
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. face — to point toward
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — the month

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