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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: ball · wax · face · hide · jam · fork · present · capital

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ball — a great time
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. present — there
  17. face — to confront
  18. present — a gift
  19. face — to point toward
  20. fork — in a road
  21. ball — a dance
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. jam — in traffic

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