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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. wake — a trail
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. capital — money
  9. mark — a trace
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bat — the animal
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mark — a grade
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wax — to grow
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — for baseball

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