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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 120 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: plane · bore · capital · cold · trunk · present · safe · chip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. present — the time now
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. capital — a city
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cold — an illness
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. present — there
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. capital — money
  24. present — a gift

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