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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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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: rock · perch · mine · trunk · hide · land · rush · capital

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — a country
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — a city
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rock — music
  17. rush — hurry
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rock — a stone
  23. land — to come down
  24. perch — the fish

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