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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: capital · file · snap · ball · root · pound · rock · wax

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. capital — a city
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. snap — to click
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ball — a great time
  9. root — the cause
  10. rock — music
  11. root — of a plant
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. capital — money
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — a stone
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pound — a weight
  20. file — a document
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. root — of a word

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