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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: mate · mouse · capital · trunk · chest · net · roll · track

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. track — a path
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. mate — a partner
  6. capital — a city
  7. net — for catching
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. net — after costs
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. chest — a box
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. roll — a list
  18. net — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. track — a song
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mate — a friend

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