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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · content · rule · swing · stem · capital · game · ball

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rule — a law
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. swing — music
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. capital — money
  10. swing — in golf
  11. content — happy
  12. ball — a dance
  13. game — a match
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. content — the amount
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rule — government
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. swing — to play on
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a great time
  24. stem — to come from

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