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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 120 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: straw · wind · board · capital · calf · craft · scale · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. board — to get on
  8. wax — to grow
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — moving air
  11. craft — boats
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. scale — in music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. capital — money
  20. board — a committee
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. craft — a skill
  24. scale — size or range

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