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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 120 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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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 · club · band · rest · trunk · suit · cell · wax

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. club — for dancing
  5. suit — in cards
  6. band — a music group
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a ring
  12. club — for golf
  13. suit — clothes
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wax — to grow
  18. club — a group
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. suit — to fit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cell — a phone
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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