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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: wind · trunk · mark · content · capital · bass · court · ground

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ground — the earth
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. court — of a king
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. court — of law
  12. ground — a position
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. court — for sport
  16. capital — money
  17. ground — crushed
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. capital — a big letter

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