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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 116 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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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: race · chair · prune · capital · club · wax

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for golf
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit

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