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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 120 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: wax · wake · deal · trunk · object · kid · race · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. kid — child
  4. deal — to handle
  5. race — humankind
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. capital — a city
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — to tease
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. race — the arms race
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. object — a thing
  24. race — a contest

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