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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 116 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: clip · cell · wax · shower · safe · bay · trunk · capital

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. shower — rain
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wax — to grow
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cell — in biology

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