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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: board · capital · march · wax · branch · tube · chair · wake

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — a division
  7. wax — to grow
  8. march — the month
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. board — a committee
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — a trail
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tube — the underground
  17. board — to get on
  18. tube — a container
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. march — music
  24. capital — money

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