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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: plane · bat · lean · capital · wax · spell · key · shower

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lean — to bend
  4. spell — letters
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — money
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. shower — rain
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. capital — a city
  19. key — for a lock
  20. lean — thin
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — for baseball

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