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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fork — in a road
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. mine — for digging
  16. vault — a safe
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. capital — money
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. fall — the season

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