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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: capital · court · perch · rash · trunk · lie · lean · game

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a city
  8. lean — thin
  9. rash — a series
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. game — a match
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rash — hasty
  15. perch — the fish
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lie — to recline
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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