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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 120 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 · last · cap · capital · tube · rash · bowl · mug

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — final
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mug — a face
  9. tube — a container
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cap — a hat
  13. capital — money
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tube — the underground
  17. last — to go on
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. last — finally
  24. rash — a series

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