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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · trunk · clip · bowl · cell · spring · lean · capital

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. spring — of water
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. lean — thin
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lean — to bend

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