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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · last · wax · trunk · plane · band · cell · capital

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mug — to rob
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. capital — money
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cell — in biology
  9. last — final
  10. mug — a cup
  11. capital — a city
  12. cell — a phone
  13. band — a music group
  14. mug — a face
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — finally
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. last — to go on
  24. band — a rubber band

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