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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: lash · fine · hand · track · trunk · chair · wound · capital

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chair — a leader
  4. capital — a city
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. track — to keep track
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. track — a song
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hand — help
  15. track — a path
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — all right
  21. capital — money
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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