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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · stock · mine · safe · wound · capital · arm · chest

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mine — for digging
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. stock — shares
  15. capital — a city
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chest — a box
  23. capital — money
  24. mine — belonging to me

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