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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: swing · trunk · rule · capital · arm · degree

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — a city
  4. swing — music
  5. rule — a law
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. swing — to play on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. capital — money
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rule — government
  18. trunk — of a tree

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