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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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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: kid · capital · lean · shower · trunk · temple · ball · wax

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wax — to grow
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. kid — to tease
  9. ball — a great time
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lean — to bend
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lean — thin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kid — child
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. shower — rain
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. lean — to rest against

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