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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a city
  4. bound — certain
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bank — for money
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bank — for money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bound — obliged
  18. capital — money
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mine — for digging
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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