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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  2. capital — money
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tube — the underground
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. file — a line of people
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. vault — a safe
  12. file — a tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — a container
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spring — the season
  23. file — a document
  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