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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 116 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: fine · pop · wound · straw · trunk · cap · capital · plane

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cap — of ice
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — money
  8. fine — all right
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. capital — a city
  15. plane — a tool
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pop — to visit
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. pop — soda
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fine — high quality
  24. straw — dry grass

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