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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 · mate · court · cabinet · pitcher · tube · face · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. face — to point toward
  5. court — of a king
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mate — a friend
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — to grow
  12. face — part of the head
  13. court — of law
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — for sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. face — to confront
  21. tube — a container
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cabinet — ministers

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