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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: race · field · leaves · capital · lash · lean · trunk · content

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. field — farmland
  3. capital — a city
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — thin
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. lean — to bend
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. field — a subject
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. race — humankind
  20. field — for sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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