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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: capital · swing · trunk · wind · fine · track · bear · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fine — high quality
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. track — a song
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — all right
  9. bear — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. track — a path
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bear — the animal
  23. capital — money
  24. wind — moving air

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