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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: trunk · deal · cap · capital · content · wake · jam · degree

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — money
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cap — a hat
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. degree — from a university
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cap — of ice
  12. deal — to handle
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cap — a lid
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. capital — a big letter

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