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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: wax · rush · leaves · capital · mine · trunk · straw · cap

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wax — to grow
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rush — hurry
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cap — a hat
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. trunk — of a car

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