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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: clip · capital · game · cabinet · roll · fan · trunk · bore

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. roll — a list
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bore — to tire
  17. clip — for paper
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bore — to drill
  20. game — wild animals
  21. capital — money
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. game — a match

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