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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: kick · season · wax · fan · bank · hand · prune · capital

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bank — of a river
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — money
  11. season — in sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hand — help
  20. season — of the year
  21. bank — for money
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kick — in football

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