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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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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: march · bay · racket · capital · wax · wind · wound · mark

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wax — to grow
  14. capital — a city
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — money
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. mark — a grade

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