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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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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: lash · wax · toast · capital · track · cell · fork · prune

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. track — to keep track
  5. prune — to trim
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cell — in biology
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — in a road
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. cell — a phone

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