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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: club · prune · cell · face · trunk · key · capital · cabinet

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. face — to confront
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. key — the most important part
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. club — for golf
  13. prune — to trim
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. face — part of the head
  19. key — in music
  20. capital — money
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. club — a group
  23. capital — a city
  24. cell — a phone

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