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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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468
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: bowl · rock · racket · wax · capital · jam · pitcher · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. march — music
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — a city
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. capital — money
  24. racket — for tennis

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