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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. capital — a city
  4. spring — a coil
  5. object — to protest
  6. plane — a tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. capital — money
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. object — a thing
  12. spring — of water
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. object — an aim
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. band — a music group

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