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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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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: land · track · trunk · safe · club · cold · capital · ruler

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. club — for golf
  6. track — a path
  7. land — a country
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. track — to keep track
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. track — a song
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. club — a group
  19. land — ground
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. safe — out of danger

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