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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 · current · trunk · court · present · capital · pass · file

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. court — for sport
  4. current — electric
  5. file — a document
  6. present — a gift
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. current — happening now
  9. file — a tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. file — a line of people
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. present — the time now
  15. court — of law
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. present — there
  18. wax — to grow
  19. capital — a city
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. court — of a king
  23. current — of water
  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