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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. capital — a city
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. capital — money
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — a container
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. nail — on a finger

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