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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: racket · capital · trunk · wound · cap · ground · dip · perch

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ground — the earth
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ground — crushed
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cap — a lid
  19. perch — the fish
  20. capital — a city
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — a position
  24. perch — for a bird

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