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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · capital · cell · trunk · drill · land · saw · cue

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — ground
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — the tool
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cue — a hint
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. drill — army training
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wound — an injury

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