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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: capital · trunk · mine · chip · bay · bat · content · snap

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. capital — money
  4. content — the amount
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. capital — a city
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. snap — to click
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chip — for betting
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bat — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. content — happy

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