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

Word bank: safe · rest · pass · capital · trunk · kid

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rest — a break
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — a city
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. capital — money
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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