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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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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: cold · foot · wake · capital · nail · arm · press · trunk

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — money
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. press — newspapers
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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