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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: band · capital · lie · chest · scale · track · snap · trunk

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. capital — a city
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. capital — money
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. band — a music group
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. snap — to click
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chest — a box
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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