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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 · lash · chair · capital · bat · pop · trunk · spell

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. spell — letters
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pop — music
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. spell — magic

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