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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
468
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: wax · board · branch · capital · row · cell · fan · trunk

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. branch — a division
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. board — to get on
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. board — a committee
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. row — a line
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. row — to paddle
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wax — in the ear

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