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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 120 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: trunk · object · racket · cold · fine · capital · wake · file

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wake — a trail
  3. fine — high quality
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. object — a thing
  10. file — a document
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fine — all right
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cold — not warm
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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