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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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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 · fine · cap · mark · field · mine · wake · saw

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fine — high quality
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — of ice
  9. field — for sport
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — farmland
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fine — all right
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mark — a grade

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