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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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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: stick · capital · bay · chest · wound · racket · trunk · jam

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. chest — of your body
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. chest — a box
  13. wound — an injury
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. racket — for tennis

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