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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: trunk · degree · spring · capital · dip · rash · safe · season

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. capital — money
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rash — a series
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. capital — a city
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. season — of the year
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — in sport

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