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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: tube · swing · chair · toast · capital · last · spell · wax

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. capital — money
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tube — the underground
  8. capital — a city
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spell — letters
  12. last — finally
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — bread
  15. spell — magic
  16. last — to go on
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chair — a leader
  19. swing — to play on
  20. tube — a container
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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