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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: last · trunk · capital · staff · content · wax · land · suit

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. suit — to fit
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. land — to come down
  12. wax — to grow
  13. last — finally
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. capital — money
  17. suit — in cards
  18. land — a country
  19. last — to go on
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — happy
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. content — the amount

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