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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: lean · bowl · wax · rash · tube · rest · capital · wound

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — a city
  3. tube — a container
  4. rash — a series
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rest — a break
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — money
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. lean — thin
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wound — an injury
  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