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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.

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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 · pitcher · game · cap · capital · can · land · nail

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. can — to be able to
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. game — a match
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cap — of ice
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. can — a tin
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. land — ground
  17. can — a tin
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — a city
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. nail — for a hammer

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