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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · clip · saw · capital · squash · rash · cap · kick

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. capital — a city
  7. clip — for paper
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rash — hasty
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — money
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. clip — a video

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