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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: staff · club · chest · trunk · capital · roll · perch · jam

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chest — of your body
  5. roll — a list
  6. perch — the fish
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. staff — employees
  12. club — a group
  13. chest — a box
  14. capital — a city
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. club — for dancing
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. roll — a cake
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. staff — employees
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. club — for golf

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