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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: toast · trunk · wake · spring · capital · temple · club · cell

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. cell — a phone
  3. club — for golf
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spring — the season
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cell — in biology
  10. club — for dancing
  11. spring — of water
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. toast — bread
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — a trail
  22. club — a group
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. capital — money

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