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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: last · bank · trunk · hand · deal · mouse · capital · court

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. court — of law
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. last — final
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. hand — help
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. last — finally
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. bank — for money
  24. last — to go on

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