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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: trunk · tube · march · board · capital · pitcher · spell · cabinet

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spell — magic
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. march — the month
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — a short time
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — money
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — music
  19. tube — a container
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. capital — a city
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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