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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: prune · wax · capital · fall · cap · current · charge · clip

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. clip — a video
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. charge — electricity
  8. prune — to trim
  9. charge — a price
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — of water
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. current — electric
  14. clip — for paper
  15. current — happening now
  16. capital — money
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. charge — in control
  20. capital — a city
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wax — to grow

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