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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 · fork · cap · trunk · kick · dip · arm · spring

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cap — a hat
  8. fork — in a road
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — money
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cap — of ice
  22. spring — the season
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — a lid

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