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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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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: leaves · cold · object · trunk · stick · wave · capital · present

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — a gift
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — to protest
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. object — a thing
  21. present — the time now
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. present — there

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