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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: trunk · capital · sharp · band · lash · wave · spell · stem

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. stem — to come from
  5. band — a ring
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. capital — money
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. capital — a city
  19. sharp — clever
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. spell — a short time

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