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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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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: plane · wax · band · saw · capital · lean · rash · tube

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. saw — the tool
  7. capital — a city
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. tube — a container
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lean — thin
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — to bend
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wax — to grow

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