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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 120 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: fork · rock · trunk · snap · squash · capital · patient · chest

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — a box
  18. snap — to click
  19. capital — money
  20. rock — a stone
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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