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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 · cabinet · pound · root · kick · cold · capital · rush

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. capital — money
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cold — not warm
  11. root — of a word
  12. capital — a city
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rush — hurry
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cabinet — ministers

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