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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: bowl · date · mark · bound · cell · capital · craft · trunk

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cell — a phone
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. capital — a city
  9. bound — tied together
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bound — obliged
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mark — a grade
  19. craft — boats
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. capital — money
  24. bowl — a football final

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