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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: field · content · band · trunk · craft · capital · sharp · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. content — the amount
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. field — farmland
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. band — a music group
  9. field — for sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. content — happy
  12. craft — boats
  13. field — a subject
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. capital — money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — a city
  24. sharp — clever

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