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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: wound · march · court · toast · bore · trunk · bat · capital

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bore — to drill
  3. court — of a king
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. toast — bread
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bore — to tire
  14. march — music
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. bat — in an idiom

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