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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: spring · game · staff · bass · toast · trunk · craft · capital

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — a city
  4. spring — the season
  5. bass — the fish
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — boats
  9. bass — low music
  10. spring — of water
  11. staff — employees
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. staff — a stick
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. game — a match
  23. staff — employees
  24. toast — bread

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