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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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Word bank
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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: cold · cue · tube · trunk · capital · temple

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tube — a container
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cue — a signal
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. capital — a city
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cue — for pool
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cue — a hint

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