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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: trunk · capital · race · net · root · bank · bass · straw

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. race — humankind
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bass — low music
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. root — of a plant
  13. net — after costs
  14. race — the arms race
  15. capital — money
  16. race — a contest
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. root — of a word
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bank — for money
  21. net — for catching
  22. bass — the fish
  23. root — the cause
  24. net — in sport

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