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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: board · capital · dip · spell · wax · foot · trunk · snap

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. foot — a measure
  5. board — a committee
  6. spell — letters
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. board — to get on
  14. dip — to sink
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. snap — to click
  24. foot — part of the body

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