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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: wave · last · capital · cue · season · racket · file · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cue — a signal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. file — a tool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. last — to go on
  10. file — a document
  11. last — final
  12. cue — for pool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. capital — a city
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. season — in sport
  17. last — finally
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a line of people
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. capital — money
  24. season — of the year

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