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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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: stand · band · pass · bat · kick · wax · spell · capital

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. spell — letters
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a ring
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spell — magic
  17. capital — money
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kick — in football
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. band — a music group

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