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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: calf · trunk · capital · chair · wake · prune · key · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. key — in music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — a trail
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — a city
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. prune — to trim
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. prune — to trim
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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