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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 · wax · clip · roll · object · lean · staff · coach

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — a video
  6. object — an aim
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. object — to protest
  15. clip — for paper
  16. roll — a list
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — to cut
  22. object — a thing
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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