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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 120 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: ball · chip · straw · leaves · trunk · race · field · capital

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. race — a contest
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chip — for betting
  11. race — the arms race
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — a city
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chip — to eat
  19. ball — a dance
  20. capital — money
  21. race — humankind
  22. ball — a great time
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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