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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: trunk · safe · rock · bear · capital · kid · bank · content

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rock — music
  6. capital — money
  7. bank — for money
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bear — the animal
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rock — a stone
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. kid — child
  17. bank — of a river
  18. content — happy
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — the amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bank — for money

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