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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: capital · trunk · fine · bat · wave · lash · file · band

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fine — high quality
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a tool
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. band — a music group
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. band — a rubber band

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