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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 · safe · trunk · fine · band · chip · wind · bat

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. capital — a city
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — to eat
  13. fine — all right
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bat — the animal
  16. capital — money
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bat — for baseball

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