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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 · tube · net · mark · lie · capital · board · field

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. field — a subject
  4. mark — a grade
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. lie — to recline
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tube — the underground
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. board — to get on
  12. field — farmland
  13. mark — a trace
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. board — a committee
  16. field — for sport
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. net — after costs
  20. capital — a city
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. tube — a container

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