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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: trunk · rush · field · wound · bass · prune · saw · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. field — for sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. capital — money
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. capital — a city
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bass — low music
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bass — the fish
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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