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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · bank · face · hand · snap · march · capital · wax

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bank — of a river
  4. snap — to click
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. capital — a city
  11. face — part of the head
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bank — for money
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. face — to confront
  17. march — music
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — money
  22. face — to point toward
  23. hand — help
  24. bank — for money

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