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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 · wave · rush · cold · drill · ball · wax · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. capital — a city
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — army training
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rush — hurry
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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