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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: trunk · arm · coach · race · field · capital · kid · leaves

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. race — humankind
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. field — farmland
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. field — a subject
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. kid — to tease
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. field — for sport
  22. race — a contest
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. arm — part of the body

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