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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chest — a box
  3. capital — money
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. kick — in football
  12. chest — of your body
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. capital — a city
  15. current — happening now
  16. spring — a coil
  17. current — of water
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. current — electric
  24. trunk — of a tree

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