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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: swing · trunk · bound · lie · game · shower · stand · capital

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. swing — to play on
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lie — to recline
  10. capital — money
  11. bound — tied together
  12. capital — a city
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bound — obliged
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bound — certain
  21. shower — rain
  22. stand — to bear
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. stand — for spectators

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