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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: land · hand · wound · wax · capital · bank · can · bound

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — a country
  3. bank — for money
  4. land — ground
  5. bound — tied together
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. can — a tin
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. can — to be able to
  15. land — to come down
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bound — certain
  19. bank — for money
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — an injury
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. can — a tin
  24. hand — help

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