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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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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: rest · wave · trunk · stick · mug · saw · capital · field

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. capital — a city
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. mug — to rob
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mug — a cup
  9. field — a subject
  10. mug — a face
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. capital — money
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. field — for sport
  24. wave — of the sea

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