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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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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. scale — in music
  5. march — music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. capital — a city
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. march — the month
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — letters

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