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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: capital · fall · bat · hide · club · trunk · ball · wind

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. club — for dancing
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. ball — a dance
  9. club — a group
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fall — the season
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. club — for golf
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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