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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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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: chest · ground · stick · plane · capital · cap · trunk · key

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — a position
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. plane — a tool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. chest — of your body
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. key — in music
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. key — the most important part
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. ground — the earth
  23. key — for a lock
  24. ground — crushed

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