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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: mine · row · object · capital · cue · trunk · fork · game

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cue — for pool
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. object — to protest
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cue — a signal
  11. object — an aim
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. game — a match
  16. row — a line
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. object — a thing
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mine — an explosive

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