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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 116 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 · mine · band · capital · cue · sharp · chip · trunk

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cue — for pool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. band — a music group
  9. mine — for digging
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — to grow
  16. band — a ring
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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