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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · rest · capital · fork · pass · swing

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. swing — in golf
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rest — a break
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. swing — music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fork — in a road

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