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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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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: pass · trunk · craft · sharp · toast · capital · fork · cell

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. sharp — clever
  6. capital — a city
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. craft — boats
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. craft — a skill
  17. toast — bread
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of a car

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