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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: kick · spring · arm · cap · pit · track · trunk · swing

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. kick — in football
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. spring — a coil
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pit — in a race
  8. track — to keep track
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. swing — in golf
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pit — a hole
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — of water
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. spring — the season

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